DAZN, as a sports broadcaster, sees the gambling business as a natural extension of the user experience, steadily expanding in the European market based on event rights; while the UK horse racing industry, although avoiding direct taxation, faces an implicit crisis due to a significant increase in remote gambling tax, leading to reduced operator investment and pressure on business models. The interplay between offense and defense reflects the complex relationship between the European sports and gambling industries. Compliance operations and market strategy cases related to the industry can be referenced on the PASA official website.
DAZN: "Sports IP + Gambling" Creating a New Integration Benchmark
DAZN steps out of the pure broadcaster role, focusing on event rights to build a one-stop ecosystem of "watching + betting":
Core Expansion Logic
Mutual complementarity of user needs: CEO Shay Segev openly states, "Fans betting on Barcelona are likely watching the game on DAZN," with gambling serving as a supplement to watching games, buying tickets, and purchasing merchandise, without mandatory participation;
Integrated diverse experiences: Users can engage in community chats, gamified challenges, and personalized replays on the platform, with gambling being an optional component, aligning closely with the core needs of sports fans.
Market Layout and Success Stories
Coverage: Launched DAZN Bet in the UK in August 2022, expanded to Germany and Spain in 2023, recently acquired a license in Ontario, Canada, and is about to enter non-European markets;
Italian benchmark: Renewed exclusive broadcasting rights for Serie A until 2029 in 2023, becoming the only platform in Italy where all Serie A matches can be watched; the Italian online gambling market size reaches 5 billion euros, with DAZN leveraging its rights advantage to achieve deep integration of broadcasting and betting, becoming a model of industry integration;
Regulatory synergy: Focusing on compliant markets, emphasizing to the government that "the more the platform profits, the more it invests in sports leagues," creating a positive cycle of "profit - reinvestment - league enhancement," gaining regulatory approval.
UK Horse Racing: Avoiding Direct Taxes but Not Indirect Impacts
In the UK's 2025 budget, the horse racing betting tax rate remains unchanged at 15%, but the increase in remote gambling tax triggers a chain reaction:
Hidden Impact of Tax Reform
Industry ecosystem under pressure: Remote gambling tax increased from 21% to 40%, non-horse racing sports betting tax from 15% to 25%, squeezing gambling operators' profits, leading them to cut horse racing-related marketing and sponsorship budgets;
Horse racing becomes a "loss leader": Operators prefer to invest in higher-profit casino products, with horse racing betting burdened with multiple taxes (gambling tax, responsible gambling tax, special horse racing tax), becoming a "loss leader," weakening its profitability;
Increased risk of black market: Last year, approximately 1.5 billion pounds of horse racing bets flowed to the black market, and higher tax rates may further push funds out, eroding the industry's financial base.
Business Model and Industry Contradictions
Revenue model failure: The horse racing industry relies on operators' turnover sharing, creating a vicious cycle of "more promotion, more sharing but higher operator costs," needing to shift to a net gambling revenue (NGR) sharing model;
Internal fractures emerge: During lobbying, some gambling operators believe the horse racing industry, to protect itself, promotes taxing other gambling products, damaging industry unity;
Retail business struggles to save the day: Although offline betting remains stable, the cancellation of tax benefits and rising minimum wages increase cost pressures, unable to offset the contraction of online investments.
Industry Trends: Integration Innovation vs. Policy Pressure
Two scenarios highlight the differentiation and connection of the European sports gambling industry:
DAZN's innovation lesson: Relying on exclusive sports IP to achieve deep integration of "content + gambling," meeting user needs and easily gaining regulatory support, providing a differentiated path for the industry;
UK horse racing's warning: Even though it avoids direct taxes, the industry still falls into a passive state due to policy changes, highlighting the "tight binding" between sports and gambling industries, where changes in a single component may trigger a chain reaction;
Core consensus: Whether it's innovative integration or policy response, compliant operation is a prerequisite, and related market strategy adjustments and compliance cases can be obtained for more reference through the PASA official website.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
